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Centre for Future Work

A non-partisan centre of excellence, developing timely and practical policy proposals to help make the world of work better for working people and their families.

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  • Research
    • Research
    • Sector Bargaining Clearing House
  • Coverage & Commentary
  • PowerShare
  • False Profits
  • Online Learning
    • Debunkers’ Academy
    • Economics for Everyone: How to Cut Through the Jargon
  • Commentary,  Labour Standards,  Trade Unions

    Amazon’s Union-Busting in Quebec Can Be Overcome

    February 3, 2025 /

    Amazon, the fourth-richest corporation in the world, recently announced the closure of 7 of its warehouses in Quebec because one of them (in Laval) had voted to unionize, and was about to attain a collective agreement (thanks to Quebec’s first-contract arbitration system). This decision will throw 1700 workers out of their jobs. In this commentary, originally published in Canadian Dimension magazine, Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford considers options for overcoming Amazon’s union-busting strategy.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Inequality,  Research,  Trade Unions,  Wages

    Alberta Continues to Slip in National Wage Rankings

    January 28, 2025 /

    After a decade of declining real wages, Alberta continues to lag the rest of Canada in repairing wages and living standards for the province’s workers. That is the finding of new research released by the Centre for Future Work.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Globalization,  Macroeconomics,  Research,  Trump Tariffs

    Who’s Subsidizing Whom?

    January 12, 2025 /

    U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened immediate across-the-board 25% tariffs on imports from Canada, possibly as part of a plan to use “economic force” to annex Canada. Trump claims the Canada-U.S. trade deficit constitutes an “emergency” (thus justifying violation of America’s trade treaties), and amounts to the U.S. “subsidizing” Canada to the tune of $200 billion per year.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Commentary,  Inequality,  Trade Unions,  Wages

    Strikes Have Economics Benefits, Not Just Costs

    January 4, 2025 /

    In the tumultuous years since the COVID pandemic and the subsequent outbreak of inflation, Canada has experienced a large number of work stoppages. Canada experienced over 800 strikes and lockouts in 2023, resulting in 6.6 million days of work time lost. That’s much higher than in most recent years, but still lower than peak levels of industrial disputes experienced in the 1970s and 1980s.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Commentary,  Inequality,  Macroeconomics,  Wages

    ‘Vibecession’: Reconciling Positive Statistics with Negative Sentiment

    December 2, 2024 /

    Newly released data for the third quarter of 2024 (July-September) shows the economy has continued to grow, albeit slowly. Consumer spending was the brightest light in the third quarter data: growing at an annualized rate of 3.5% (in real, inflation-adjusted terms), and constituting the largest single source of new demand.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Commentary,  Inflation,  Technology

    High-Tech Price-Fixing

    December 2, 2024 /

    One worrisome feature of recent bursts of inflation has been the role of automated price-fixing technologies in pushing up prices across entire industries. Companies use special programs to search out the prices being charged by competitors, and detect changes in demand. These algorithms can then adjust prices quickly, at the level judged to be the highest the market will bear.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Gender and Work,  Public Sector Work,  Research

    $10-per-Day Child Care Plan Already Boosting Canada’s Economy

    November 24, 2024 /

    In 2021, Canada’s federal government announced a new $10-per-day national early learning and child care (ELCC) program, which began rolling out in 2022. It has increased the number of regulated child care spaces in Canada, and significantly reduced (by over 50%) average fees paid by parents.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Commentary,  Macroeconomics,  Public Sector Work,  Wages

    Yes, Public Sector Jobs Count, Too

    September 15, 2024 /

    B.C.’s unemployment has been among the lowest in Canada for several years, economic growth and business investment have been among the strongest, and the province now has the highest hourly wages for employees of any province. Yet some business commentators try to debunk that record, claiming it’s all due to public sector spending and hiring.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Commentary,  Inflation,  Macroeconomics

    Explainer Video on Corporate Power and Profit-Led Inflation

    September 11, 2024 /

    Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford is featured in a new 6-minute video, produced by the Broadbent Institute, discussing the role of corporate price hikes in post-pandemic inflation.

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    Jim Stanford
  • Commentary,  Inflation,  Macroeconomics

    Regulating Prices Not Such a Crazy Idea

    August 25, 2024 /

    Kamala Harris’s entry into the U.S. presidential campaign has had a dramatic impact on political discourse there – not just in the opinion polls, but in policy thinking, as well. For example, in her recently-unveiled economic platform she advocates new federal laws against price-gouging, to limit the power of private businesses to unreasonably jack up prices for groceries and other essentials...

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    Jim Stanford
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Recent Posts

  • Public Health Care Is Not Just a ‘Cost’… It’s an Economic Driver
  • Supporting Skilled Trades Labour Supply as Canada Embarks on Historic Building Boom
  • Albertans’ Economic Hardship Reflects Provincial Policy Choices, not “Attacks” by the Rest of Canada
  • New Data Confirms Canada-U.S. Trade is Balanced and Mutually Beneficial
  • Per Capita GDP is a Deeply Flawed Measure of Economic Performance and Living Standards

About Us

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The Centre for Future Work conducts progressive research on labour issues, with offices in Canada and Australia. In Canada, the Centre works in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. In Australia, the Centre is a project of the Australia Institute.

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